Joe Miller’s unappreciated agnosticism

Leaked emails, if legitimate, show a rift between Todd Palin and Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller. Ironically, it was Todd Palin’s friendship with Miller that reportedly helped lead to Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Miller after she had initially indicated she would back Lisa Murkowski for the Senate.
The apparent rift stems from Miller’s response to a question from Neal Cavuto as to whether Sarah Palin is qualified to be president. Miller did not respond that Palin is qualified. Instead, he basically ducked the question.
The response, which Todd Palin characterized as a statement that Miller doesn’t know whether Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, infuriated the “First Dude.” In the leaked email he says:

Hold off on any letter [of support] for Joe. Sarah put her ass on the line for Joe and yet he can’t answer a simple question ‘Is Sarah Palin Qualified to be President’. I DON’T KNOW IF SHE IS. Joe, please explain how this endorsement stuff works, is it to be completely one sided. Sarah spent all morning working on a Face book post for Joe, she won’t use it, not now.

Naturally, this incident is giving rise to all manner of speculation. Some say it is strong evidence that Sarah Palin will run for president in 2012. I believe she probably will run then, but Todd Palin’s email doesn’t provide much evidence one way or the other. I agree with Allahpundit that the problem for Todd Palin probably was Miller’s seeming ingratitude towards the former governor, not the desire to collect an endorsement in anticipation of a presidential run.
Allahpundit speculates as to Miller’s motives in not affirming that Sarah Palin is qualified to be president.

Maybe [it was] because he’s worried about alienating Palin-hating centrist Republicans whom he needs to peel away from Murkowski. Or maybe it [was] because. . .there are pro-Huckabee staffers on Miller’s team whom he doesn’t want to antagonize.

These explanations assume a level of premeditation for which I see no strong basis. Here’s a more plausible explanation – maybe Miller isn’t convinced that Palin, who resigned from the only major office she ever held without completing one term, is qualified to be president of the United States.
As for the current flap, presumably it can be cleared up if Miller is to say willing to say, at the second time of the asking, that, yes, Sarah Palin is qualified to be president. If this represents a compromise of Miller’s real view, it probably won’t be the last such compromise Miller makes, assuming he heads to Washington next year.